(All rights go to Pen Stroke on FiMFiction.com. I do not own "Past Sins".)


“I told 你 we shouldn’t have used her,” 彩虹 Dash barked at Applejack.

“Oh hush up,” 苹果白兰地 snapped back. “She was the only unicorn we could find who had a special talent for magic, and even that was a long shot.”

“So, my little ponies,” Nightmare Moon began, ending the disagreement and forcing the five mares to take notice of her, “what am I going to do with you?”

“Do whatever 你 want, 你 can’t make us talk!” Dash shouted defiantly.

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie agreed, only to look quizzically at 彩虹 Dash a moment later. “Wait, what would we talk to her about?”

“Pinkie Pie, shhhh.”

Nightmare Moon chuckled. “Your bickering alone is very amusing to me. How would 你 five like to be my personal court jesters? I’ll even let 你 have visitation rights with Twilight Sparkle.”

“Your Majesty, the law dictates that there is only one punishment for those who dare to attack you.”

Nightmare Moon turned her attention to the voice, seeing it was one of her body guards. She was surprised they had actually lingered nearby after her faked defeat. She would have expected them to bolt for the 城堡 to inform Spell Nexus of what had happened. Still, they had remained and were now bowing down to her respectfully.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Nightmare Moon turned her attention away from the guards that were interrupting her fun. “Let me guess, this is one of Nexus’s laws.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” one of her guards confirmed.

“And what does this law say?”

“That any 小马 that attacks your royal grace is to meet the gallows,” the other guard answered.

“Did… did he just say… gallows?” Rarity asked in a hushed, disbelieving whisper.

苹果白兰地 nodded. “He… he did, sugarcube.”

“B-b-but what about the 动物 at my cottage?” Fluttershy asked as she started to tear up in panic. “There are some that need their medicine. I have to go take care of them. There is a little 鼬, 雪貂 that needs his bandages changed a-and there are song birds that are just about ready to take their first flight. What will happen if I’m not there to catch them if they fall?”

“You be strong, sugarcube. I promise all those little 动物 will get along just fine,” 苹果白兰地 tried to reassure her. “Just… just like how Big Mac, 苹果 Bloom and Granny Smith will get along. It will be hard, ‘specially when the 下一个 Applebucking Season comes. I-I don’t think Big Macintosh will be able to handle all them trees himself, but 苹果 Bloom's gettin’ big. She’ll be buckin’ apples any 年 now. She’ll be able to help.”

“But… but I can’t go to the gallows!” Rarity wailed in a panic. “I just can’t! I can’t leave my family behind like that!”
“And who will throw the parties when I’m gone?” Pinkie Pie asked, her usually curly hair starting to deflate and fall straight.

“Who's going to make the cake when I'm gone? The Cakes will have their anniversary party soon, and there is a wedding party that we have to cater, and then there is a birthday party for Lyra, and—”

“What’s wrong with all of you!?” 彩虹 Dash bellowed at her friends. She got to her hooves and flared her wings. “We can’t give up! We can take her without the elements!”

彩虹 Dash leapt at Nightmare Moon. She arched her hoof back, making it very clear she intended to 冲床 Nightmare Moon square in the jaw. Nightmare Moon, however, made no effort to dodge 或者 鸭 彩虹 Dash’s attack, for she didn’t have to.

Before 彩虹 could lay a hoof on Nightmare Moon, the two royal guards rushed 前锋, 期待 and tackled her. They pinned

彩虹 Dash against the ground, and even though she struggled to try and free herself, the stallions were too strong. She had no hope to escape, and finally the reality of the situation started to settle in. “We… we’ve lost.”

苹果白兰地 sniffled and rubbed her hoof across her nose. She was doing her best not to cry, to be the strong one for her friends, but she was losing that fight. “I’m sorry, Rainbow, but that’s what it looks like.”

“But this isn’t fair,” Dash complained. She began to struggle against the guards again as tears formed in her eyes. “I was going to go to the Wonderbolt tryouts this summer. I was going to be a Wonderbolt, and I promised Scootaloo that I would teach her how to fly like I do when her wings were stronger. I promised her that I would, and… and who's going to clear the weather in Ponyville if I'm not around?”

彩虹 Dash’s 问题 were the final straw. Applejack, who had been struggling to be strong, broke like a thin twig. She began to cry with her friends, and Nightmare Moon watched as all five mares crumbled under the cost their attempted rebellion would incur. And, as she watched them, Nightmare Moon knew she should have been happy. She should have been enjoying the sight of their suffering.